Session 6: The Blood War

Luciel vs Glenn

Summary

Luciel - Concept Art

Spinagon

Manes

Quasit

Shadow Demon

Sparax

Vyrshara

Sigil

The party exited the Citadel of Cinders, making their way to the Gymnasium of Steam. On the way, the nobleman on the balcony begged them for help, since he had sold his soul for riches and his health was failing. They ignored him.

Upon reaching the Gymnasium of Steam, they were greeted the cambion Vekesh, who showed them to their rooms. They called for service and dined on 17 different cured meats, enjoying a steaming mineral bath while fending off invisible imps.

The next morning, Smokescale arrived to inform them that the gate to Sigil was under a barstool in The Bleeding Horn tavern, and that the key was to spill a secret. He revealed he had helped Slygrip and Gutterjaw slay Scampers. After a shitty mess and its clean-up, he bathed sullenly as the party left.

Reaching The Beetle Bazaar, Kraxx'Tor installed retractable silver spikes on to Unit 137, extolling the virtues of Baator and order.

Questioned about the murderer, Kraxx'Tor indicated that "Fingers" McFinney was friends with him. Fingers accidentally revealed the hiding location to be the other eye socket of the Bazaar.

The party entered and interrogated the accused, Hilt, who proved via mind reading that he was being targeted since he witnessed Zelza Zurkbane's true form, a Succubus, and that she was plotting to sink Ribcage into The Nine Hells.

During deliberating their options, "Fingers" McFinney stumbled into the group with a Potion of Invisibility. The party agreed to have Xarannos represent Hilt, and had him imbibe the potion to remain unseen.

The party arrived at The Law Offices of Xarannos, who agreed to represent Hilt. He had noted that order had increased in Ribcage since fiends were allowed back in and was not surprised to hear of the plan.

He believes he will depose Zelza and even install Hilt as a new senator. In exchange, Hilt provided the party with information as to the location of a chest of gems and a portal to a mineral-rich pocket of the Elemental Plane of Earth, where he sources them.

On the way to The Bleeding Horn, the party encountered Luciel, an obsidian-skinned cambion who was trying to talk a group of ill bariaur into accepting his cure in exchange for a fragment of their souls.

The party used the Mimir to discover the arrangement -- The Moss Hag would make groups of people ill, and Luciel would then sell the cure.

This led to an encounter against Luciel's spined devils. He surrended upon their defeat, granting the party gold and freely giving the cure to the bariaur.

After it was administered, as the party was set to leave, The Blood War came to Ribcage in the form of an incursion led by a Shadow Demon.

The party joined Luciel in battling these Abyssal forces and earned his gratitude.

The party then proceeded to The Bleeding Horn tavern, explored Unit 137's hopes and dreams, persuaded a white abishai into giving a scale to Cedani, and entered the portal to Sigil.

There, the party beheld the city's mud-caked Hive Ward and the session came to an end.

XP Award

• 500 XP for finding a way to pike Zelza Zurkbane
• 675 XP for defeating Luciel's forces and forcing his surrender
• 413 XP for defeating the Shadow Demon and his abyssal allies
• 600 XP for reaching Sigil, the City of Doors
• Total: 2188 XP
• Current XP: 1455 XP -> 3643 XP (Level 3 -> 4!)
• (Required for next level: 6500 XP)

Things That Happened

To The Steam Gate

• Date: 5th of Tarsakh (The Claw of the Storms, April), 1372 DR, late evening
• The party exited the Citadel of Cinders, making their way past the statue of Zelza Zurkbane and heading toward the Steam Gate.
• On the way, they encountered the nameless noble on his balcony again.
  • He begged for their aid as he had sold his soul and sacrificed his brother for riches, but his health was failing and he would soon be damned to Minauros.
  • He asked if the party could fell Mammon, the lord of one of the Nine Hells.
  • The party told him it wasn't their problem and continued on.
• As they exited the Steam Gate (passing by a sleeping black abishai), they walked a path that led past boiling mud pits with imps basking in them, along with mineral water steam pools.

The Gymnasium of Steam

• They spotted the Gymnasium of Steam, a massive structure with Brian-safe carvings and statues of succubi and incubi.
• They were greeted by Vekesh, a slim cambion proprietor, who led them to their rooms. The interior of the Gymnasium had black marble floors, wooden accents, and rich art of The Blood War. The party walked past rooms with imps bathing in lava ponds and nobles in private spas.
• Their rooms were appointed with beautiful beds, a bog-pond for Glenn, and a side table of delicacies -- fruits, cured meats, cheeses, and wine.
• They had a massive window with a view of the lava moat around Ribcage.
• Its centerpiece was a massive marble mineral water bath -- bubbling and large enough for 20 men.
• Octavius rang a silver bell for assistance, and a thralled-golden haired woman served the party 17 cured meats after confirming she did not have wild game for Octavius to eat.
• Unit 137 spotted an invisible imp in the room, and spent much of the night deterring their approaches until they gave up.
  • Unit 137 began exhibiting happy tongue-lolling behavior. It's silver and a blend of metallic and organic.
• After a communal bath together while feasting on 17 cured meats and wine. A melted Cedani and freakly-thin wet owl dried themselves, and then the party went to rest.
  • Glenn and Unit 137 shared the bog pond.

Smokescale's Report

• Date: 6th of Tarsakh (The Claw of the Storms, April), 1372 DR, early morning
• Smokescale arrived through the window, and declared that the gate to Sigil was in fact his groin area. He grabbed it and made rude tugging motions.
• The party fed Smokescale while he described that the portal was under a bar stool in The Bleeding Horn, a tavern that had lava dripping into it from one of Ribcage's namesake ribs.
  • The key is to spill a secret out loud.
    • Smokescale shared that he had helped Slygrip and Gutterjaw murder Scampers
• Octavius cast Thaumaturgy and screeched at Smokescale. He lept back and soiled himself.
• Ordered to clean, Smokescale smeared imp feces on an ornate bed curtain, then tried to put it back in place.
• Cedani fixed the mess with Mending and Prestidigitation.
• Smokescale remained in the bath sullenly as the party left.

Return to the Bazaar

• The party walked back to the Beetle Bazaar.
  • They were passed by a glowing black orb that was muttering to itself. They felt diminished in its presence.
• They met with Kraxx'Tor, who installed 1.5 foot silver spikes all around Unit 137, which was integrated with Modron technology with "Fingers" McFinney's help.
  • They are retractable. During installation, Kraxx'Tor and Unit 137 debated the nature of order and neutrality, asserting that some day the modron would need Baator's might to hold back the forces of disorder.
• Kraxx'Tor resumed crafting silver chains for himself. He was already wearing a red-hot one.
• When asked if he knew the murderer, Kraxx'Tor mentioned that he was friends with "Fingers" McFinney.
• When questioned, "Fingers" McFinney revealed with an unintentional glance that his friend was hiding inside the other eye of this ancient dead beetle.
• Taking the scenic route, the party reached the second eye, and found a flap that would open.
• It revealed a hollowed-out chamber, illuminated in red from cathedral-glass like eye segments of the beetle, and a thin bald man huddled under a fur blanket in its center.

Hilt's Innocence

• Hilt explained the did not kill anybody.
• Octavius proved this correct with a Detect Thoughts spell.
• Hilt offered a pouch of gems to Octavius, which he took without hesitation.
• Eventually (and after Unit 137 helps with spike intimidation), Hilt admitted that he had seen Zelza Zurkbane's true form, that of a succubus, and heard her speaking to a senator about their plan to sink Ribcage into The Nine Hells was almost complete. She would earn Bel's favor.
• Loot: A pouch of tourmaline worth 350g.
• The party deliberated what to about the situation. Their alignments came into play as each character had their own views on potential risks, morality, and benefits to the party.
• Reward: The entire party gains 1 inspiration point per character for this interaction.
• "Fingers" McFinney stumbled into this meeting, declaring that he had the Potion of Invisibility for his friend.
• The party decided to have Hilt represented by Xarannos.
• Hilt imbibed the potion to stay hidden, and was escorted by the party.
• Unit 137 kept watch and ensured no invisible imps were near the eye.

Better Call Xarannos

• The party entered Xarannos's law offices. Their piked contract was a new addition to the others hanging from the ceiling in spiral patterns.
• Xarannos asked for a single jink from the party as they told their story.
• He was not surprised to hear of the plan, which explained why fiends were allowed back into the city after the previous duke, Paracs, was deposed.
• He agreed to represent Hilt pro bono, and explained how he would be represented in absentia to guarantee his safety, citing laws and regulations.
• He was confident that Zelza would be deposed, replaced, and was even optimistic about installing Hilt as a new senator.
• Thanking the party, Hilt scrawled directions about how to get to a chest of rubies and a portal to a mineral-rich part of the Elemental Plane of Earth where he mines.
  • In Undersigil, in The Shaved Coin tavern, speak with his friend Fredd, under the fighting pits. The key to the gate is blood, so it's actually open most of the time.

Luciel's Cure

• The party departed the law offices, making their way to The Bleeding Horn.
• On the way, they encountered an open plaza with a blood fountain, and a handsome obsidian cambion (Luciel) speaking to a group of ill bariaur. Their fur was mottled and they were coughing roughly, especially the children.
• He offered a cure for their condition in exchange for a fragment of each of their souls.
• He asked the party to help them see reason.
• The party asked the Mimir about his vial, and it revealed its history: The Moss Hag would disease groups of travelers and Luciel would sell them a cure of her making.
• Luciel claimed the right of False Accusation and summoned two Spinagons to defend his name.
• Diedric's elvish Warhammer of Warning sang out a tone that sounded like wind chimes rebounding on their own sounds.

Encounter 1: Luciel's Claim of False Accusation

• Two spiked devils (spinagons) and Luciel in a passive role.
• Highlights:
  • Luciel failing to charm two party members.
  • A spiked devil's own spine being used to decapitate it.
  • Glenn leaping 30 feet into the air to grab Luciel mid-flight and bring them both crashing down.

Luciel's Surrender

• Luciel surrenders, impressed by the party's vigor.
• He offers a pouch of coins from across the planes.
• Loot: A pouch of coins totaling 300g.
• The party is tense, with multiple members readying actions to annihilate him if he makes a wrong move.
• He offers the Vial of Silverflesh to Glenn, who then hands it to the returning bariaur. They each drink a drop of the cure and leap away.
• As they turn away, the Warhammer of Warning rings even louder.
• A creature of shadow rises from the blood fountain, and the party is flanked by abyssal Manes and quasits.
• Luciel shouts for their help, explaining that these fiends will tear the town apart, mortal and baatezu alike.
• The party agrees to fight alongside him.

Encounter 2: The Blood War

• 1x Shadow Demon, 6x Manes, 2x Quasits
• Highlights:
  • Magic Missile barrages annihilating groups of Manes.
  • Effective eldritch blasts.
  • Diedric rolling a 5 non-stop, causing nearly every Guiding Bolt to miss.
  • Smokescale one-shotting a quasit, his ultimate nemesis.
  • Unit 137 using his silvered spikes to great effect.
  • Sweet twin rays of flame from the cambion.
  • The Shadow Demon taunting victims that it struck.
  • During the battle, Octavius flying higher and noting the city-wide conflict, including the conjuration of a massive Wall of Ice near the Bleeding Horn.
• Loot: Black ectoplasm from the Shadow Demon (a component of the ritual to summon a Gelatinous Cube).
• After the fight:
  • Luciel announces that they've now joined the Blood War, and makes a knighting motion with his arms. He asks if they would like to join it formally.
  • The party declines.
  • Luciel plane shifts away.

The Bleeding Horn

• The party makes their way, finally, to The Bleeding Horn.
• There is a wall of ice on front of the tavern, with the bodies of abyssal creatures frozen in death.
• Behind the bar stands Sparax, a towering ice devil with a chitinous exoskeleton, powerful mandibles, and a long, spiked tail. An icy spear is leaning against the bar next to him.
  • Lava flows behind him from the ceiling into a pool that flows out to Ribcage's moat.
• He offers them a local drink for a jink -- it looks like frothy blood. When Glenn drinks it, he tastes the tears of his enemies and those weaker than him begging for mercy as he cuts them down.
  • They feed this to Unit 137 and inspect his thoughts. They see him wearing a horned viking helm, in the center of a gear, wielding blades of light and darkness, creating shockwaves that annihilate indistinct creatures of chaos.
• Other patrons include dwarves, tieflings, humans, and imps.
• One of the bar stools is red and oversized.
• He also offers the party of the body of a quasit. They decline, and an imp later urinates on the body.
• Seated at the bar is a white abishai woman, Vyrshara.
• With the aid of Detect Thoughts, the love for Tiamat is conveyed to Vyrshara, who surrenders a single white scale to Cedani.
• Smokescale sheepily speaks his secret outloud as the entire tavern listens in.
• A swirling blue portal opens. He falls into it backwards while flipping the party two impish birds.
• The party follows.

Sigil, the City of Doors

• The party was then read this description:
• There's an icy nothingness sliding over your skin for several heartbeats. You see nothing but blackness. There's the sensation of blades running just against your skin, and:
• Then with a burst of light, you stumble into a muddy alleyway, passing through a doorway.
• Behind you, past the doorway you just came through, is a half-collapsed stone house, with bits of broken furniture visible inside.
  • Above it, and all around you, are chaotic stacks of houses, one on top of the other in haphazard angles, like a drunk with poor eyesight had tried stacking crates. Some are stone, some are made of sheets of rusted, coppery metal, but all look poor and ramshackle. The structures are at least seven stories high, although it’s hard to tell due to their inconsistent sizes. Some are connected by metal cables, serving as makeshift bridges. The towering, ramshackle buildings that loom overhead seem to lean inward, their upper stories nearly touching.
    • A woman huffs and slams metal shutters closed upon seeing you. Several thin children on a third story run and hide behind an alleyway at their level.
• From the puddles in the mud, it looks like it rained recently. The sky is dark, with a gray haze visible above, and twinkling lights beyond.
• This alley, a dead end behind you, is otherwise empty. Flanked by stacks of ramshackle houses, the path is forward.
• Acrid stench of smoke, unwashed bodies, rotting garbage. Piles of midden and discarded rags.
• Distant sounds of a bustling city (hawkers, conversations, rough laughter, shouting)
• It feels like an early evening, but there is no clear source of light visible. It’s pretty cold.
• Planar characters: You are in Sigil, the City of Doors, in the Hive district. It’s known to be dangerous and full of criminals.
• The smoke clears above you briefly, revealing a city far above you where the sky should be, over a mile away. The buildings are upside down, looking like miniature models from this distance. A large, prominent building above you has the charm of a spiked metal spider — it’s a large compound, with a significant area cleared around it.
  • Sigil natives: This is the Mortuary
  • Diedric felt vertigo looking up at the opposing side of Sigil.
• The session came to a close.

Maps

Map - Session 6 - Ribcage

Map - Session 6 - Sigil

NPCs Encountered (or mentioned)

• Vekesh, the Proprietor of The Gymnasium of Steam
• Alarra, the Enthralled Servant
• Scampers, the Murdered Imp
• Hilt, the Innocent Gem Salesman
• Fredd, the Friend with the Gems
• Luciel, the Obsidian Cambion
• Sparax, the Proprietor of The Bleeding Horn
• Vyrshara, the White Abishai

Memes

• [to a cambion] "Hey... want to make some tieflings?"

DM Thoughts

• This was the party's first encounter with 8+ enemies. It went fairly smoothly.